The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Astilbe, botanically known as Astilbe arendsii×Astilbe japonica and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Verslilac’.
The new Astilbe is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Haarlem, The Netherlands. The objective of the breeding program was to create new strong Astilbe cultivars with attractive foliage and flower coloration.
The new Astilbe originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in 2001 in Haarlem, The Netherlands, of an unnamed Astilbe arendsii seedling selection, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed Astilbe japanoica seedling selection, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The new Astilbe was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled greenhouse environment in Haarlem, The Netherlands in 2003.
Asexual reproduction of the new Astilbe by divisions in a controlled environment in a greenhouse in Honselersdijk, The Netherlands since 2003, has shown that the unique features of this new Astilbe are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.